On Television
Cruising the Oceans With
Great White Sharks
CC f we ever reach the stage where
We've eliminated the big pred
ators, then we've destroyed
the wild," says Paul Atkins, who
with his wife, Grace, has made a
film about the ultimate marine pred
ator-the great white shark.
Rather than relying on divers
filming from inside steel cages (a
method that affects shark behavior),
the National Geographic Special
"Great White Shark" uses remote
cameras to record natural patterns
of predation.
A great white breaks the surface
while feeding, giving researchers off
South Africa a chance to attach a
barbed identification tag. Marine
biologist Greg Marshall manages to
tether a small camera to the tag.
When the shark dives, the "critter
cam" goes along to record life on
the prowl from a predator's view.
At the Farallon Islands off San
Francisco scientists float a surfboard
with a camera mounted underneath.
Cruising below, a great white rises,
expecting the silhouette to be a
dinner of young elephant seal. The
speed and power of the attack is a
reminder, if one is needed, of just
who rules the oceans.
"Great White Shark" airs Wednesday,
March 1, at8 p.m. ET on NBC and is
the Home Video Club selection for July.
Close Encounters
With Grizzly Bears
n Sunday morning, Septem
ber 18, 1983, Trevor and
Patricia Janz were walking
through a light snowfall in Waterton
Lakes National Park, Canada, when
they experienced a hiker's worst
nightmare-a grizzly mother with
cubs, feeding on an animal carcass.
What happened next is captured
in "Bear Attack," part of the
EXPLORER program "Deadly
Encounters." The segment shows
how humans can protect themselves
in the domain of the grizzly. Says
Stephen Herrero, who has studied
bear behavior for 25 years: "If you
surprise a grizzly and contact seems
inevitable, you've got to protect
your face and neck. Lie face down,
put your hands behind your neck,
and play dead."
"Deadly Encounters" airs Sunday,
March 19, at 9p.m. ET on TBS
Superstation.
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